Mysuru: A relief of the ‘Heritage City’ from a vantage point will reveal, even to the untrained eye, the many layers of the past that drape it, not unlike the pleats of a sari. While one finds the domes of palaces and turreted ‘Gopurams’ of temples rising proudly into the sky, crenellated spires of churches, and the Greco-Roman colonnades of structures such as Lansdowne Building are vestiges of its tryst with British occupation. However, these very tangible moments of history, preserved in such architectural marvels are not confined to a small space at the centre of city. A few miles off the city, along the Mysuru-Nanjangud Road stands a pavillion that is more than a millennium old, and which the traveller is likely to miss unless he or she is looking for it. This ornate pavilion at Devaraja Sagara, more popularly known as Doddakere, fates back to that period when the region was under the grip of the mighty Chola dynasty of Tamil Nadu. This is among the oldest monuments in Mysuru, attesting to its importance for aeons together. However, the authorities concerned appear not too keen on preserving this page of history, built with stone and standing strong for more than a thousand years. The widening of the Mysuru-Nanjangud Road endangered this age-old structure, covering a significant portion of it in mud. Worried about its future, conservationists, historians and citizens have urged civic authorities to ensure its survival for posterity by constructing a retaining wall around the pavillion. Acknowledging its importance, the former Mysuru monarch Dodda Devaraja Wadiyar developed a park around the pavillion, naming it ‘Shringara Thota (A garden of beauty)’, which sprang up around Doddakere. While the intricate patterns on the structure might lead one to believe that this was largely an ornamental edifice, the gopuram was, in fact, built to fulfill a purely functional purpose – it was supposed to act as a weir to the waterbody, once known as Chola Lake. “It dates back to the Chola period, and was built in 10th century CE. It functioned as a weir to Doddakere,” said Prof. NS Rangaraju, a member of the heritage committee. Distressed by the sight of debris scattered around the gopuram, Rangaraju added, “Once the work on widening the road was completed, authorities who were involved in the project must have ensured that the structure came to no harm. Unfortunately, the debris has been dumped on the gopuram.” The conservationist added that those with vested interests had tried to destroy the structure several times in the past. Calling the gopuram one of the classic examples of the Chola style of architecture, Prf. Rangaraju said, “Many carvings on the gopuram are made from granite, and are similar to the ones found in Belur and Halebeedu. Some of them have been vandalized, while few of them have even been stolen.” While Mysuru wears its sobriquet as the state’s ‘Heritage City’ with much pride, Rangaraju’s observations highlight the need for measures that need to be made to preserve its reputation. “Much needs to be done to ensure that structures of historical significance do not cease to exist,” Rangaraju said. Historian PV Nanjaraj Urs highlighted the role that the pavillion had essayed during the reign of the Wadiyars in the early 20th century. “When there was an outbreak of cholera and plague in the 1900s during the reign of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, Doddakere was drained through the gopura. Water flowed out of Doddakere, and joined Dalvoy Lake on the Mysuru-Nanjangud Road,” Urs said. The historian added that, the Wadiyars had been enamoured of the Chola structures, and instructed the sculptors in their employ to emulate the style, and stated that it was possible that it did not necessarily belong to the Chola era. “There is a need to conserve the structure, and any threat to it must be eliminated,” Urs said. Another historian Echanur Kumar too pointed out that the innate beauty of the structure had prompted then Mysuru Maharaja to develop a beautiful garden around it.

Assistant engineer Srinivas Joshi, who was associated with the road-widening project, said that a retaining wall would be built, and added that the debris would be cleared. “We will install barriers from the Gun house to the entry point of the bridge along with a retaining wall near the drain, which is close to the structure to ensure that traffic movement poses no threat to the structure. Safety measures prescribed for a national highway will be adhered to,” Joshi said. - Shivendra Urs